Is Johnny Depp the most versatile actor in Hollywood?

By
Iain Alexander / 29 May 2011

Johnny Depp has portrayed many diverse roles in his career from Jack Sparrow to Edward Scissorhands but has the actor also set a benchmark for being the most versatile?

All his characters have had some kind of personality trait that was different in every movie, including mannerisms and accents. Accents are of course, the hardest for most actors to mimic because being attuned to other voices takes weeks of practice. Most will not be able to imitate more than a few voices.

From his homage to Marlin Brando in a scene in ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’ to his well-received Scottish accent in ‘Finding Neverland’, Depp has shown a huge array of ‘speech’. Actors like Kevin Spacey and Kevin Pollack are formidable in their voice imitations, but can they also create entirely different characters in their movies?

Looking back at classic Johnny Depp movies like ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ and ‘Ed Wood’, you get a sense that in every film he embodies a completely different spirit. Everything about him is dissociated with the Johnny who speaks to us outside of the movies.

However we can’t forget Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Peter Sellers, Dustin Hoffman, Kirk Douglas and countless other actors who have contributed to our cinema experiences with their own blend of genius. Each has their own set of talents and abilities, but Johnny Depp, has something very special.